Sparks: The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte review – one artful banger after another
Overflowing with delicious melodies and lyrics to match, the Mael brothers’ 26th album is all hits, no misses - Phil Mongredien
starstarstarstarstarPaul Simon: Seven Psalms review – a surprise and a revelation
The veteran singer-songwriter ponders faith and mortality in seven beautiful, impressionistic movements - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarNaïssam Jalal: Healing Rituals review – cinematic album salutes the natural world
A remarkable artist, the visionary flautist and her skilful partners have created a startling album that draws on techniques from classical, jazz, hip-hop and more - John Fordham
starstarstarstarstarOvermono: Good Lies review – certified bangers galore
The Russell brothers mix weapons-grade nostalgia with two-step, trap and sped-up vocals in a set full of emotional ambushes - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarThe Lemon Twigs: Everything Harmony review – rarely has stark despair sounded so lovely
With their classic late-60s songwriting and beautiful harmonies, the New York duo have never mined the past more effectively than on this fourth album - Ben Beaumont-Thomas
starstarstarstarstarJessie Ware: That! Feels Good! review – 21st-century disco packed with personality
The retro mood of Ware’s brash pop never feels like a costume, as her tight melodies, killer choruses and dry humour wear vintage details with style - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarEverything But the Girl: Fuse review – still staking out pop’s frontier after 40 years
Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt have absorbed the revolutions in dance and electronic music since their previous album in 1999, and shaped them into melancholic, finely detailed stories - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarAvelino: God Save the Streets review – long-awaited debut sets the bar high
The London rapper shines on a powerful set of urban stories and mea culpas - Damien Morris
starstarstarstarstarBoygenius: The Record review – Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus blaze with feeling
The US indie-rock supergroup skewer the male ego on this magnificent meeting of harmonies and minds - Tara Joshi
starstarstarstarstarJames Holden: Imagine This Is a High Dimensional Space of All Possibilities review – a dance album like no other
With his fourth album, the acclaimed British producer has created the vintage rave soundtrack he would have wanted as a teenager. The result is magnificent - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarEddie Chacon: Sundown review – delightful career renaissance for former one-hit wonder
The 59-year-old singer of Charles & Eddie fame is back with a second album of tightly written melodies and abstract tracks that draw you in to a rich, heady world - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarBlack Country, New Road: Live at Bush Hall review – magical resurgence by this odd little chamber orchestra
The six-piece’s first new material without frontman Isaac Wood, recorded over three nights in London, proves their malleability and resilience - Ben Beaumont-Thomas
starstarstarstarstarLankum: False Lankum review – folk radicals get in touch with their softer side
Without diluting their power or abandoning their gothic intensity, the Dublin group’s fourth album lulls the listener with songs of exquisite softness and deeply affecting harmony - Jude Rogers
starstarstarstarstarLigeti: Metamorphoses review – Quatuor Diotima meet quartets’ challenges with accuracy and brilliance
Superlative renditions of the composer’s two string quartets illuminate his musical transition from communist Hungary to the western avant garde - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarMary Bellamy: Behind the Transparent Surface review – Partch’s invented instruments return to the
Alongside more familiar sounds, Bellamy weaves four instruments invented by Harry Partch between 1930 and 1950 to create a strikingly original album - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarFoo Fighters: But Here We Are review – a raw, unapologetic act of mourning
On the veteran band’s first album since drummer – and Dave Grohl’s best friend – Taylor Hawkins’ death, every anguished, searching and sometimes triumphant song is about death - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarClark: Sus Dog review – comforting weirdness you can’t get anywhere else
A majestic title track is the centrepiece of the electronic artist’s irresistible first vocal album in his 20-year career, with Thom Yorke executive producing - Damien Morris
starstarstarstarstarLola Young: My Mind Wanders and Sometimes Leaves Completely review – estuarial verité with 2020s attitude
Don’t hold the Brit school and John Lewis ad against her… the young Londoner’s straight-talking pop is the real deal - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarJoshua Jaswon Octet: Polar Waters review – a soaring blend of jazz and poetry
The saxophonist’s heartfelt album on ecological themes is adventurous and musically playful - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarDudu Tassa & Jonny Greenwood: Jarak Qaribak review – engaging reworkings of love songs from across the Middle East
The Radiohead guitarist teams up with the Israeli bandleader and guests from across the region for an uplifting survey of songs from Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and more - Ammar Kalia
starstarstarstarstarRandall Goosby: Bruch and Price Violin Concertos review – Florence Price has her ideal champion
Goosby and Nézet-Séguin bring Price’s storytelling to life and embrace the romance of Bruch - Erica Jeal
starstarstarstarstarWater From Your Eyes: Everyone’s Crushed review – style-hopping indie duo find focus in chaos
Across seven years and several albums this band has been evolving its scattershot sonic collage, and here it feels like they’ve finally found their sound - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarKaytraminé: Kaytraminé review – spry, sparkling rap collaboration
Producer Kaytranada and MC Aminé are joined by Pharrell, Snoop Dogg and more on this set of bouncy club jams - Ammar Kalia
starstarstarstarstarKesha: Gag Order review – angry and uplifting
The pop survivor addresses past traumas on her powerful fifth album, with lush production by Rick Rubin - Tara Joshi
starstarstarstarstarShirley Collins: Archangel Hill review – brio and unforced gravitas
The veteran folk singer’s renaissance continues with this gem of weathered vocals and exquisite accompaniments - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarMahler: Das Lied von der Erde review – Gerhaher and Beczała give late masterpiece new life
Heard in a less usual male-voice pairing and with a piano reduction of the full orchestral score, there are more gains than losses to be found here - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarKassa Overall: Animals review – a jazz-hip-hop fusion of real artistry
The Seattle drummer, rapper and producer flits between drum kit and electronica, ferocity to tranquillity, on his third studio album - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarJon Wilks: Before I Knew What Had Begun I Had Already Lost review – tender and thoughtful
The hard-working West Midlands folk devotee finds inspiration from beyond Birmingham on a lively, inventive fourth LP - Jude Rogers
starstarstarstarstarBrahms By Arrangement Vol Two: Orchestrations by Robin Holloway review – dialogue with the past brings present benefits
The English composer pays reverent and inventive homage to music by the German grandee with the help of the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Paul Mann - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarOvermono: Good Lies review – UK rave history is distilled to perfection
Knitting garage with techno and chopped-up vocals, the pounding yet poppy debut album from Monmouth brothers Ed and Tom Russell is masterfully done - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarCloth: Secret Measure review – gently addictive guitar pop
Glasgow’s Swinton twins keep things simple, with the odd flourish, on their quietly contemplative second album - Damien Morris
starstarstarstarstarSBTRKT: The Rat Road review – audacious electronic gems
Versatile composer and producer Aaron Jerome reaps beauty from a restless digital palette in his first album for seven years - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarFatoumata Diawara: London Ko review – exuberance rules
With star guests to the fore and Damon Albarn co-producing, the stylish Malian singer-songwriter speaks her mind on her wide-ranging third studio album - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarAdjunct Ensemble: Sovereign Bodies/Ritual Taxonomy review – a disorientating act of resistance
Free jazz, opera, hymns and newscasts intermingle in an oddly compelling sonic collage addressing issues of asylum and migration - John Lewis
starstarstarstarstarEd Sheeran: Subtract review – easily his best ever album
Grief and his wife’s brush with cancer inspired Sheeran to make this insular record with Aaron Dessner of the National. It’s downcast yet full of new ideas – but will fans take to it? - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarFarrenc: Symphonies 1-3; Overtures review – music of energy and verve from sidelined composer
Laurence Equilbey and her orchestra champion compatriot Louise Farrenc’s orchestral works, revealing energy and verve to rival her 19th-century peers - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarGretchen Parlato and Lionel Loueke: Lean In review – a winning partnership between old friends
The American singer and Benin guitarist join forces on a languid mix of bossa nova, power ballads – and Foo Fighters - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarBongeziwe Mabandla: amaXesha review – South African singer in his own lane
The singer-songwriter elevates his reimagining of Xhosa folk music with synth-pop hooks and his melismatic voice - Ammar Kalia
starstarstarstarstarSusanne Sundfør: Blómi review – timelessly classic songwriting
Ignore the baffling spoken word bookends and focus on the spectacular songwriting, as the Norwegian star harks back to the likes of Laura Nyro and Carole King - Ben Beaumont-Thomas
starstarstarstarstarIl Proscritto review – Opera Rara unearth an uneven gem
Saverio Mercadante’s opera of a love triangle in 17th-century Scotland is conducted with conviction by Carlo Rizzi and its complex heroine is beautifully sung by Irene Roberts - Erica Jeal
starstarstarstarstarChet Baker: Blue Room review – gorgeous unreleased sessions by maestro of drowsy jazz
On previously unheard 1979 recordings for Dutch radio, impulsive improvisations by the trumpeter-vocalist are expressed with his inimitable featherlight phrasing - John Fordham
starstarstarstarstarAlfa Mist: Variables review – his own universe of genre-transcending music
Warm, subtle jazz rubs shoulders with hip-hop and R&B in an evocative album that hits the sweet spot between accessible and experimental - Rachel Aroesti
starstarstarstarstarWhat of Words and What of Song review – perfect showcase for Juliet Fraser’s gifts
The singer exhibits her technical mastery and ability to inhabit the worlds of diverse modern composers with utter conviction - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarDinner Party: Enigmatic Society review – slinky, synthy R&B
The jazz supergroup without the ego bring an LA breeziness to an album shimmering with 80s synths and G-funk - Kate Hutchinson
starstarstarstarstarDave Okumu & the 7 Generations: I Came From Love review – a meditation on Blackness
Calling on stellar guests including Grace Jones, the Invisible frontman’s impressionistic second solo release is an emotional but accessible listen - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarLonnie Liston Smith: JID017 review – return of the cosmic groove
The keyboard revolutionary’s first album in 25 years is infused with 70s idealism and sits well with his stellar back catalogue - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarFeist: Multitudes review – a soul-stirring career highlight
The Canadian singer-songwriter processes birth and bereavement on a raw sixth album of gossamer vocals and screaming outbursts - Ammar Kalia
starstarstarstarstarDave Okumu & the 7 Generations: I Came from Love review – spirituals, soul … and Grace Jones
Okumu’s imaginative ‘collaboration’ with his ancestors and successors is a genre-switching journey through an extensive lineage of Black experience - Tayyab Amin
starstarstarstarstarHMLTD: The Worm review – a grand, apocalyptic free-for-all
Gospel choir, prog rock and a giant worm eating its way through England… the out-there London art punk band hold nothing back on their second album - Ammar Kalia
starstarstarstarstarDaughter: Stereo Mind Game review – bigger, brighter, lusher
The moody folk rockers make a welcome return with beautifully arranged songs exploring long-distance relationships and the struggle to be sober - Damien Morris
starstarstarstarstarYaeji: With a Hammer review – pop-facing rage and candour
The Korean-American singer-DJ examines complex questions of heritage on a debut album proper that expands her beatscape to include moments of grace - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarThe Young’uns: Tiny Notes review – passionate folk in praise of unsung heroes
Paying tribute to David Nott, Lyra McKee and more, the Teesside trio’s eighth album delivers compassion without fanfare - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarMultiTraction Orchestra: Reactor One review – spectral, alien improv
Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen finally meets his match with Alex Roth’s superb band, who push the limitations of their instruments and shift between many registers - John Lewis
starstarstarstarstarTim Hecker: No Highs review – ambient music that reflects our polluted world
Full of alarms, arrhythmic pulses and deep bass, Hecker’s eerie work feels as if it’s bracing for cataclysm – but is nevertheless rich, warm and inviting - Jazz Monroe
starstarstarstarstarMessiaen: Des Canyons aux Étoiles … review – epic score soars in Utah’s superb recording
Thierry Fischer leads the Utah Symphony in a fine new recording of Messiaen’s longest orchestral work, made in the very desert landscape that inspired it - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarBlondshell: Blondshell review – an alt-rock star is born
Sabrina Teitelbaum writes her rage in various vivid shades, resulting in a coming of age album with PJ Harvey and Hole influences - Laura Snapes
starstarstarstarstarWalter Smith III: Return to Casual review – a tenor sax player for our times
By turns elegant and mile-a-minute, the Texan makes his collaborative Blue Note debut with this classy set of originals – and a Kate Bush cover - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarAle Hop & Laura Robles: Agua Dulce review – channelling the cajón’s raw power
There’s heart-thumping tension and catharsis as the musicians aim to reconnect the Peruvian percussion instrument with its slave roots - Ammar Kalia
starstarstarstarstarMaconchy, Lutyens and Wallen: Works for Piano and Orchestra review – first-time recordings pack a punch
The BBC Concert Orchestra bounce off the coiled spring of Martin Jones’s piano playing as moments of reflective beauty shine through in previously unrecorded works - Erica Jeal
starstarstarstarstarAngel Bat Dawid: Requiem for Jazz review – a cosmic brew
Capturing the full power of a live 2019 performance, the Chicago musician channels a 1959 film and Sun Ra with her potent jazz-classical suite - Kate Hutchinson
starstarstarstarstarLana Del Rey: Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd review – bold and enthralling
Shimmering strings meet trap beats as the songwriter looks back in languor on her richly textured ninth album - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarSissoko Segal Parisien Peirani: Les Égarés review – an awesome foursome
This stellar quartet channel a multitude of influences to irresistible effect - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarMo’Ju: Oro, Plata, Mata review – ambitious neo-soul takes on capitalism and catastrophe
The Filipino Wiradjuri rapper’s tightly written fourth album shows an artist entering the prime of their career - Andrew Stafford
starstarstarstarstarSissoko/Segal/Parisien/Peirani: Les Égarés review – genre-hoppers stray towards surprise
Émile Parisien’s soprano sax is the standout on this diverse and inventive set, which blends kora with Anatolian shindigs, klezmer with agile accordion - John Fordham
starstarstarstarstarCompositrices: New Light on French Romantic Women Composers review – treasure trove of the overlooked
This illuminating and beautifully presented collection features works by 21 of France’s female composers, with over 160 pieces spanning 130 years - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarJpegmafia x Danny Brown: Scaring the Hoes review – mind-melting maelstrom from rap’s outer limits
New York’s Jpegmafia and Detroit’s Danny Brown transmit from hip-hop’s hinterland, in a bacchanal of inspired noise and topical chat that’s the definition of ‘not for everybody’ - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarLana Del Rey: Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd review – arresting introspection
The songwriter’s ninth album is heavy and disarmingly truthful, yet expands its close lens thanks to her wide-ranging, alluring aesthetic looseness - Shaad D'Souza
starstarstarstarstarPrincess Nokia: i love you but this is goodbye review – a raw, quickfire breakup album
The New Yorker ranges from glossy melancholy to vicious rap in an uninhibited display of her chameleonic talent - Tara Joshi
starstarstarstarstarDepeche Mode: Memento Mori review – a life-affirming farewell for Fletch
Andy Fletcher’s two surviving bandmates reflect on mortality on an album of warm, weird electro-pop - Damien Morris
starstarstarstarstar100 Gecs: 10,000 Gecs review – derangedly catchy hyperpop
The US pop-punk duo go for the mainstream jugular with nagging melodies and killer hooks - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarJulian Lage: The Layers review – otherworldly jazz guitar
The American guitarist’s sparse, largely acoustic companion piece to last year’s acclaimed View With a Room is another captivating creation - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarYves Tumor: Praise a Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume … review – psych-fuelled invention
Effortlessly twisting and bending myriad genres to their will, the alt-rock superstar has made some of their catchiest and most openly introspective songwriting yet - Tayyab Amin
starstarstarstarstarFever Ray: Radical Romantics review – Karin Dreijer returns sunny side up
Wittily exploring desire and relationships, the identity-surfing Swedish star sounds revitalised on their first solo album in six years - Damien Morris
starstarstarstarstarH Hawkline: Milk for Flowers review – affecting depth and beauty
Produced by Cate Le Bon, the Welsh singer-songwriter’s fifth album, written in the wake of his mother’s death, is a slow-burning triumph - Phil Mongredien
starstarstarstarstarNia Archives: Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against tha Wall review – carnival meets drum’n’bass
Carnival, jazz and lo-fi introspection jostle nicely as the acclaimed Yorkshire-born junglist continues to shake things up - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarRogê: Curyman review – heartwarming Braziliana
The Rio samba star reaches an international audience at last with this funky, genre-hopping set - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarMiley Cyrus: Endless Summer Vacation review – gossip, grit and glorious pop
After years trying to reconcile chart success with her leftfield musical instincts, the singer has delivered a hazily atmospheric album that plays to her provocative strengths - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarMonaleo: Where the Flowers Don’t Die review – whiplash-inducing rapper thrives on sheer force of personality
This unruly young Texan star throws some unexpected and slightly undercooked ballads on to her debut album, making it an uneven ride - Shaad D'Souza
starstarstarstarstarBrandy Clark: Brandy Clark review – country provocateur holds too much back on faltering fourth album
There are some gorgeous songs here, and some inventive arrangements, but the wit and honesty of her previous work seems diminished - Shaad D'Souza
starstarstarstarstarLewis Capaldi: Broken By Desire to Be Heavenly Sent review – hits and grit from the new pope of mope
The follow-up to one of this century’s most successful albums offers more of the same – a powerful voice and insight into heartbreak. But the wounded choruses can merge into one - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarAlison Goldfrapp: The Love Invention review – not enough killer
The Goldfrapp frontwoman’s solo debut aims squarely at the dancefloor yet is somehow lacking in wow factor - Phil Mongredien
starstarstarstarstarMadison McFerrin: I Hope You Can Forgive Me review – an elegant and intricate debut LP
The Brooklyn singer (and daughter of Bobby McFerrin) conjures moments of spine-tingling atmosphere, but struggles to truly distinguish herself - Rachel Aroesti
starstarstarstarstarIDK: F65 review – lush, sprawling soundscapes
The lyrics matter less than the music on the British-American rapper’s overlong but sumptuous jazz-inflected third album - Tara Joshi
starstarstarstarstarEd Sheeran: Subtract review – a grownup record that swings from coping to not coping
Framing his recent grief and depression in a gauzy wash of sound, the embattled songsmith continues to deal in powerful universals - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarSkinny Pelembe: Hardly the Same Snake review – hits and misses
The Doncaster genre-hopper has plenty of good ideas but can’t quite marshal them into a compelling whole - Damien Morris
starstarstarstarstarThe National: First Two Pages of Frankenstein review – still feeling blue
The US band’s ninth album features guest vocals from pals Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers, but their signature melancholy remains undimmed - Ammar Kalia
starstarstarstarstarNabihah Iqbal: Dreamer review – between dream pop and the dancefloor
Her studio equipment stolen, the London musician began with a more acoustic sound on this second album – but pure electronics are still her strong suit - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarMetallica: 72 Seasons review – solid rather than spectacular
James Hetfield’s adventurous lyrics aren’t matched by the tempo on a 77-minute album set to chug mode - Phil Mongredien
starstarstarstarstarAlma: Time Machine review – bangers out, tender confessionals in
(ATC)The Finnish singer abandons her escapist earworms for a more introspective style, with uneven results - Ammar Kalia
starstarstarstarstarEverything But the Girl: Fuse review – sleek, downtempo charms
The duo return with their intriguingly individual take on beats and plaintive vocals - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarLucy Farrell: We Are Only Sound review – a fresh, thoughtful debut
(Hudson)A stalwart of the folk scene brings rich experience to her long-brewed first album - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarCinder Well: Cadence review – a mysterious deep dive into the ocean
Multi-instrumentalist Amelia Baker conjures realms of poetic sound on a lush, complex, sometimes overwhelming album - Jude Rogers
starstarstarstarstarSkalkottas: Violin Concerto; Concerto for Violin, Viola and Wind review – little-known works give glimpses of greatness
Violinist George Zacharias’s belief in this hugely demanding music shines through, but the stylistic differences between the concertos is bewildering - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarMetallica: 72 Seasons review – a poignant if protracted nostalgia kick
With weighty lyrics referencing James Hetfield’s ongoing recovery and harking back to the band’s formative British influences, 72 Seasons has the edge of Metallica’s 80s heyday – albeit one blunted by overlong songs - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarChlöe: In Pieces review – a fragmented solo debut
One half of Chloe x Halle dives deeper into R&B with an album of uptempo earworms and some star-studded duds - Ammar Kalia
starstarstarstarstarKatie Gately: Fawn/Brute review – beguilingly disordered pop
A third album whips up a maelstrom of dislocated voices and junkyard-style percussion as the US musician plots a trajectory from her daughter’s imagined childhood to adolescence - Jazz Monroe
starstarstarstarstar6lack: Since I Have a Lover review – from bedroom beats to the dancefloor
Yearning ballads and more uptempo tracks – lots of them – sit side by side in the American rapper-singer’s transitional third album - Ammar Kalia
starstarstarstarstarU2 Songs of Surrender review – all the anthems, but smaller
In a typically grand gesture, 40 songs are picked by the band for muted acoustic treatments, with varying degrees of success - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarSBT: Joan of All review – heartfelt but fizzling indie rock
One-time Smog collaborator Sarabeth Tucek returns after a decade away with a double album that works best when it’s spiky - Damien Morris
starstarstarstarstarFred again.. and Brian Eno: Secret Life review – dull ambient set reveals both men’s weaknesses
While their signature sonic flotsam and spartan melodies are present, Eno’s contributions prove witlessly unimaginative while his mentee’s are trite - Ben Beaumont-Thomas
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